1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Wedding Band. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?” At the start of the play, character personalities are distinctly shown: Lula, a woman accurately described as “motherly” helps distressed Teeta as she has lost the quarter (a lot of money back then) she was given to get some ingredients at the store. This play begins on a 1918 Summer, Saturday morning in South Carolina. It opens up with Mattie (the one needing the ingredients, single mother), Julia (who is awoken by all of them. She is new to the neighborhood), Fanny (the landlord), Teeta, and Lula (adoptive mother to Nelson), but adds in characters as the story moves along.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? NOTE: Arguments might be made for several different points where stasis is broken. Be prepared to defend your point of view, if different from other students. The eventual collapse of Herman in which we discover that he is stricken with the flu virus. This is what sets the story forward as it doesn’t end until his death and the main conversations stem from him, his relations, and his condition. The stasis was broken then because there wasn’t any serious outward arguments until after his illness overtakes him. It is also is the final moment that completes Act 1.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? During this era it’s important to keep in mind that women still didn’t have the right to vote and were usually seen back then as a secondary character to men. However, this play turns that around: Women are not only the majority characters, but they are also all main characters. Going on that, majority of the characters are African American, another minority scrutinized during this era. This shows the importance of intersectionality that this play has as the main characters are both African American and women. In 1918 an interracial couple could not get married and were often looked down upon and shamed, even, as shown in this play, by direct family. This is also the day (Saturday) that usually no one works, yet, in reality, women are still expected to take care of the house and family. Even the start of the play shows Mattie needing ingredients in order to cook.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) Will Herman live? The intrusion sets this question into reader’s minds from the moment he falls over. Another major question that stems from this is whether or not Julia and Herman will ever make it to New York. Sadly, these both are revealed as not true, but Julia does get to make the lives of another family more optimistic for the future by giving them the ability to go to New York and start anew.
5. Use Julia to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual or individuals, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles in the play. Julia wants to run away to New York with Herman as her husband, but society’s backlash (best represented by Herman’s mother) are what pull Herman and Julia apart. Over the course of the play Julia is transformed, facing hardship just as all the women in the beginning of the play had, both economically and emotionally. She is hit with persecution and must face the issues that her and Herman have been plagued with by for the past 10 years of their relationship.
Me against myself: Julia must face the idea that her inner dreams may not happen because the society she lives in doesn’t accept her and her relationship
Me against another individual or individuals: Herman’s mother in a way represents some of what society's racial injustices against those with a different colored skin.
Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.): As mentioned above, it is illegal for Herman and Julia to be together.
Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods: Fate hits Herman as the one who falls ill to the influenza
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Wedding Band. The climax of the arguments is probably the most theatrical moment. Julia tries to stand her ground while Herman, on his last amount of power to live, explains his devote love for Julia to his mother. This leads to a screamingly heated argument Herman’s mother throws at her dying son.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Wedding Band. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Ring On The Chain: A symbol of love and marriage, yet chained because it is unlawful at the time, the wedding band takes an important role. The title of the play itself helps us understand how important this ring is to both the story and to Herman and Julia, who look at it to solidify their
The Houses/Setting: The houses are important as they give a visual representation of social classes.
Quarter: The quarter is what opens up the play. It helps point out the need of economic positions for the characters and also brings more meaning to how meaningful it is that Julia would give money and her expensive wedding band for the family.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Wedding Band.
Racism and Exclusion: An important topic that still needs to be addressed current day, racism and the fight for civil rights behind it have been highlighted in this play. Julia’s relationship alongside racial injustice and oppression as a whole is the main conflict the story revolves around. She is not accepted by neither black nor white society, and she is often looked down upon by her decision to adopt and raise an african american son. Even to the extent that she’s had to move on multiple occasions. Thus she feels excluded by both and is losing the one person she truly loves.
Hardship: All the women Julia moves nearby to have suffered in their own way. Majority of which are single mothers, which is interesting since Julia becomes a single mother by the end of the play
Dependence vs. Independence: Julia's life revolves around Herman. Her alienation from everyone further pushes her to look at Herman for a life force and someone to motivate her for freedom. They make plans for New York, but his illness puts everything on halt. By the end Julia is still stuck in South Carolina; However, she has grown as a person through taking a stand against Herman’s mother and letting go of her husband in a final goodbye and giving their ring away to help others.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Wedding Band? Perhaps you might argue for several different kinds of family in this particular play. What do you think? There are several kinds of relationships and families formed in this play. As a whole, many of the women are connected by their ability to relate to one another through the hardships they’ve had to face with their own families. In this way, the single mothers all make a strong family through community. By the end of the play, it is clear that Julia and Mattie share a strong bond as she gives her her one way out of South Carolina and the last thing she had to hold onto Herman. Maybe Julia has lost what she saw as her only family, but she has also strengthened the bond of another.
At the start of the play, character personalities are distinctly shown: Lula, a woman accurately described as “motherly” helps distressed Teeta as she has lost the quarter (a lot of money back then) she was given to get some ingredients at the store. This play begins on a 1918 Summer, Saturday morning in South Carolina. It opens up with Mattie (the one needing the ingredients, single mother), Julia (who is awoken by all of them. She is new to the neighborhood), Fanny (the landlord), Teeta, and Lula (adoptive mother to Nelson), but adds in characters as the story moves along.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? NOTE: Arguments might be made for several different points where stasis is broken. Be prepared to defend your point of view, if different from other students.
The eventual collapse of Herman in which we discover that he is stricken with the flu virus. This is what sets the story forward as it doesn’t end until his death and the main conversations stem from him, his relations, and his condition. The stasis was broken then because there wasn’t any serious outward arguments until after his illness overtakes him. It is also is the final moment that completes Act 1.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
During this era it’s important to keep in mind that women still didn’t have the right to vote and were usually seen back then as a secondary character to men. However, this play turns that around: Women are not only the majority characters, but they are also all main characters. Going on that, majority of the characters are African American, another minority scrutinized during this era. This shows the importance of intersectionality that this play has as the main characters are both African American and women. In 1918 an interracial couple could not get married and were often looked down upon and shamed, even, as shown in this play, by direct family. This is also the day (Saturday) that usually no one works, yet, in reality, women are still expected to take care of the house and family. Even the start of the play shows Mattie needing ingredients in order to cook.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Herman live? The intrusion sets this question into reader’s minds from the moment he falls over. Another major question that stems from this is whether or not Julia and Herman will ever make it to New York. Sadly, these both are revealed as not true, but Julia does get to make the lives of another family more optimistic for the future by giving them the ability to go to New York and start anew.
5. Use Julia to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual or individuals, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles in the play.
Julia wants to run away to New York with Herman as her husband, but society’s backlash (best represented by Herman’s mother) are what pull Herman and Julia apart. Over the course of the play Julia is transformed, facing hardship just as all the women in the beginning of the play had, both economically and emotionally. She is hit with persecution and must face the issues that her and Herman have been plagued with by for the past 10 years of their relationship.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Wedding Band.
The climax of the arguments is probably the most theatrical moment. Julia tries to stand her ground while Herman, on his last amount of power to live, explains his devote love for Julia to his mother. This leads to a screamingly heated argument Herman’s mother throws at her dying son.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Wedding Band. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Wedding Band.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Wedding Band? Perhaps you might argue for several different kinds of family in this particular play. What do you think?
There are several kinds of relationships and families formed in this play. As a whole, many of the women are connected by their ability to relate to one another through the hardships they’ve had to face with their own families. In this way, the single mothers all make a strong family through community. By the end of the play, it is clear that Julia and Mattie share a strong bond as she gives her her one way out of South Carolina and the last thing she had to hold onto Herman. Maybe Julia has lost what she saw as her only family, but she has also strengthened the bond of another.